As a child, Fang How enjoyed all things IT – gaming, building PCs and programming. Now, as National University Polyclinics' Chief Information Officer, he continues pursuing what he enjoys, while contributing to public healthcare at the same time.
Impact on public healthcare
In this fast-paced industry, new initiatives or requirements can come anytime, anywhere. Fang How stresses the importance of not rushing into things. Instead, he sits back and carefully considers all the variables involved to come up with a proper plan.This systematic method helps Fang How and his team manage IT projects and day-to-day IT operations for public healthcare. This includes watching out for any IT issues and nipping them in the bud, so that healthcare operations can proceed smoothly and remain undisrupted.
The team strives for continuous improvement by rolling out new IT initiatives that help achieve higher efficiency and improve patient experience. One such project is the go-live of the Next Generation Electronic Medical Record (NGEMR) for National University Hospital. The NGEMR platforms records all patients' medical and administrative data from the point of admission to discharge and provides this information to authorised healthcare staff. This helps patients save time and money as medical tests will not have to be repeated if patients were to switch care providers.
Healthcare will continue to transform in the future, and the role of IT will only continue to grow. Fang How and his team are looking forward to setting up the IT systems for two new polyclinics and redeveloping an existing one in the near future.
Highlights of working in HealthTech
New innovations, such as the NGEMR, enhance patient care and help healthcare workers achieve better productivity. While it may not seem like a glamorous job on the surface, Fang How feels that working in HealthTech is a fulfilling one as it benefits our patients at the end of the day. He shares: "Even all of us and our immediate family members are benefiting from what we do.For those interested in joining IHiS, Fang How shares that the work can be tough and tiring at times, but with the help of his colleagues, he is able to balance work and play. The working environment, where staff are well taken care of, is an added benefit as well.
And if you happen to be interviewing for Fang How's team, here's an interview tip – be prepared to ask questions!
To Fang How, questions from candidates gives him an insight on what they are looking for and how keen they are towards the job. Fang How also asks questions that help him pick out whether a candidate has the right work attitude, which he strongly believes is crucial for candidates to excel in any role.
For Fang How, his work attitude can be summarised in this statement – "Every choice made is a learning experience." Even if given the chance to turn back time, he would not change anything about his rewarding career journey, where he makes a meaningful difference in enhancing healthcare experiences.
IHiS has rebranded as Synapxe, the national HealthTech agency. Read more about our new identity here.
